One method for providing access to a telecommunications network (e.g. the public Internet) to a device that otherwise lacks the authority and/or the ability to directly access the network is to tether the device to another device having access to the network. It has therefore become a common practice to tether devices such as laptop computers, tablet computers and similar devices to cell phones and other mobile communication devices having access to a selected telecommunications network in order to provide the tethered device with access to the network. In this manner, the tethered device gains access to a telecommunications network when other forms of access (e.g., a Wi-Fi hotspot) are unavailable to the tethered device.